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Dog Saves His Vietnam Veteran Dad From A House Fire In South Carolina

Written by: Molly Weinfurter
Molly Weinfurter is a writer for iHeartDogs, and she’s passionate about helping animals in need. She volunteers for Bailing Out Benji and a local dog rescue.Read more
| Published on October 9, 2019

Brian Rand from Beaufort County, South Carolina was just sleeping peacefully at night when a fire started in his home. The smell of the smoke didn’t wake him up and there were no fire alarms going off, so Rand didn’t even notice the fire at first.

However, Rand ended up surviving this horrible fire thanks to his dog. Without his lovable companion, his house probably would have been completely destroyed, and he could have possibly lost his life.

Curly’s Brave Rescue

When Rand was looking for a dog, he initially wanted a smaller companion. Instead, he ended up adopting a 70-pound dog named Curly, who is now his best friend.

Image: Screenshot, live5news.com

As soon as Curly smelled the smoke that night, he began poking Rand with his nose to wake him up. At first, Rand just assumed Curly was waking him up because his phone alarm was going off, but he soon realized that it was still the middle of the night.

Rand got up to see what was going on, and in the hallway, he could see the heavy smoke. He rushed outside with Curly and called 911 right away.

Luckily, the fire station is just up the street from Rand’s home, so they arrived within four minutes. However, the fire department pointed out that fires double in size every 30 seconds, so even though they arrived quickly, half of Rand’s home was still destroyed.

Image: @beaufortfiredepartment/Facebook

After the Fire

Even though the house did not completely survive, many of Rand’s valuable belongings were saved from the fire. Some of these items were irreplaceable, such as items from when he served 32 months in Vietnam.

Despite the unfortunate circumstances, Rand still remains positive. He is so grateful that Curly saved him. He and Curly are both safe, so that’s all that really matters.

However, even though Rand and Curly got lucky, they should have had a working smoke detector in their home. Not everyone has a loving dog that will wake them up in the event of a fire, so Rand definitely learned from this situation.

 

Image: @beafortfiredepartment/Facebook

Even though their home is not in great shape, Rand plans to rebuild it. He loves his land and his neighbors too much to give it up. He is just a happy guy that wants to make the most of the situation. When being interviewed, he was still laughing and smiling the whole time.

“The thing I didn’t realize is my neighbors were showing up and everything like this, and I’m walking around in my underwear!” said Rand.

We all know that dogs make our lives better, but in this case, Curly actually saved his dad’s life. We need to appreciate our dogs on a daily basis because they care for us so much, and Curly’s dedication to his dad proves it.

Image: Screenshot, live5news.com

Featured Image: @beaufortfiredepartment/Facebook

H/T: live5news.com

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